A Guardian for the Shrine
A Guardian for the Shrine was a long campaign of the Stormblade Clan. It is a direct consequence of The Siege of Sargeron , and culminated in the downfall of one of the clan’s most powerful nemesis: the corrupted Wild God Shalarin. Their journey consisted in visiting several places of former clan adventures in order to bless The Stormblade and use it to empower a guardian spirit for their shrine. Were present in this campaign: * Xul'ili Deathbringer: The clan's chieftain. (female orc) * Gronnosh: A skilled hunter and Xul'ili's mate. (male mag'har orc) * Nurzum Stormbreaker: Xul'ili's apprentice. (male orc) * Krogarh: A mag'har orc warrior (male mag'har orc) * Namok the Gryzzli: Warlord of the Stormblades (male orc) * Drakinosh: An old blademaster (male orc) * Seeks: A skilled defender with runic weapons (female orc) * Detra/Detrion: A stone dragon disguised (female pandaren) * Karthys Sorrowsong: Arch Lich (male undead) * Nalna: A death knight aiding Karthys (female Forsaken) Prelude: Stormblade Shrine During midsummer, Nurzum called his clansmen to celebrate the ancestors in a ceremony on his newly build shrine. It was all going well until suddenly an ancestral spirit manifested warning them. Shalarin was trying to use that shrine to enter the mortal realm, and the ancestors were keeping her out as long as they could. With the help of the living, they managed to keep her away. However, the door to the Shadowlands was still open and the shrine remained unguarded, as the Stormblades managed to meet again only at the end of the Fourth War. As the night falls, they gathered around their village's bonfire. However, not even the flames are enough against the chilling cold wind that blows. Chieftain Xul’ili and her disciple Nurzum explained the situation to new bloods and members not present before, and Karthys even suggested using one of his shackled spirits as a guardian. Discussion went on and people began to hear whispers of some unknown voice, which escalated into the howling laughter of Krogarh. The orc’s body showed signs of a bestial nature and the clansmen noticed his eyes had become Emerald Green. The sheer void pressure is unmistakable: Shalarin possessed him. Her pressure was overwhelming, and she mocked the clansmen about their inevitable destruction. As they slowly but surely managed to endure it, the new blood shaman Detra could not and fell to the ground. Shalarin mocked her by saying the elements had abandoned her, to which an enraged Xul’ili responded by using the Stormblade to exorcise her away. Repelling such a strong spirit was no easy task, and the boundaries between mortal and spiritual planes weakened. The spirit of Darukk , son of Korgaz, then approached the clan and explained how to empower the Stormblade to seal Shalarin away once and for all: by empowering their artifact on former places which were important in their clan's history. Into the Wetlands A Ghost and a Bear The clan follows Xul'ili into their first destination. Although many clansmen have heard of the massacre that killed two thirds of their clan, few were the ones present at the time. At Dragonmaw gates, however, an old bear appears to them, moving her head as if it wants to be followed. The bear leads them to a cave, by which they discover an orc spirit sitting at its entrance. He was sad at first, but his mood changed when he saw Xul’ili once again. Zakku, son of Garuk, heard their plea but had bad news: He was the only uncorrupted spirit left, as others either passed on or fell into despair. He himself felt to blame, as he was one of the trackers and should have known Deathwing knew of their ambush. This news had shaken Xul to her core, and Shalarin took advantage of that to whisper in her ears once again. The chieftain however used the Stormblade to banish her away. Visions of the Slaughter Zakku was impressed and, although he did not accept her as his chieftain, he decided to help them cleanse the corrupted. At first, it seemed he was just heading south. But as they follow him, the once soundless wetlands were now total chaos. Deathwing brings death from above, while his dragonkin servants appear to the slaughter. Zakku was not a spirit anymore. He was alive and had a young bear companion fighting at his side against a dragonkin, while he hearing screams of his fellow orcs burning alive. This vision was too much for Xul, who stood frozen by her own traumas. Her skin went paler than normal and her eyes became hollow. It fell to her clansmen to protect her: Gronnosh Seeks and Nurzum stood by protecting her of dragonkin waves, while Krogarh charged forward and Detra revealed herself as a stone dragon! As they fought, it turns out Zakku was not the only one relieving this. Some of the corrupted spirits now show into the battlefield, angry at the living for making them relive that pain. With dragonkin dealt with, a Black drake now questions Detra’s allegiance. She answered by having a huge stone spike impale him midair. The slaughter continues, and the more orcs Deathwing kills, more angered spirits now appear on their vision. Xul’ili finally snaps out of her traumas with a warhowl, claiming she would not be beaten by a past she had triumphed over. With the Stormblade in hand, she begins to cast a cleansing spell. While she casts, Seeks and Gronnosh try to talk to the spirits. Their aggressiveness did not earn the trust of the fallen. They did, however, earned Xul time. Her bells chime as she drew runes on the air with her hand and on the ground with her feet. She put every last thing she had on that spell. And it worked. The vision blurs into a new scene. Two thirds of the Stormblades are now dead. Those who survived are unconscious or hiding. One of the tracker’s body raises, as his orc disguise fades into a Black drake. The Stormblades were sabotaged from the start! The vision changes once again, and now the spirits see visions of Deathwing’s demise and the clan’s vengeance being fulfilled. Peace reached their hearts, cleansing their corruption. Zakku and all the other spirits recognize Xul’ili Deathbringer as their chieftain, and salute her in thanks for avenging them. They bless the Stormblade and together move on to the other side. With their first objective reached, the clansmen now head south into their next location: the place of the Final Battle of the Soul Engine. The Red Dusk Horrors of the Red Dusk The Stormblades managed to rent a Zeppelin with goblin mercenaries, getting to cross neutral territory in no time and reaching south Duskwood, Alliance lands. They’ve decided to journey to Westfall at night to avoid conflict, and were resting on a camp when they’ve heard massive wheels crossing the roads west. Night Watchers rushed on their horses chasing the thing. A sound soon to be lost on the woods. All was quiet once again but, for some reason, both moons were now red. Main road was not safe, so they walked through the woods with torches. The more they walked, the colder it would get. Some would hear faint whispers, others saw shadowy figures running through the dark. When they approached what seemed to be a cemetery, three red hooded figures suddenly teleport and ambushed the clan! The Stormblades did manage do kill all but one, who dodged every single attack and teleported away when his comrades died. The whispers indicated something about that graveyard, so the clan decided to venture inside. Soon, they would see a hooded figure leaving his massive wagon behind and entering a cave to the north. Corpses of fallen Night Watchers twisted in horror and void were around that wagon, but the real horror was inside: grossly desecrated bodies of countless Stormblade scouts. It was time for answers, and they were finally close enough for the orc spirit who was whispering to them to manifest. Ravenhill Catacombs Zurogg, son of Ketsu, was in life a Stormblade warlock that died at the Battle for the Soul Engine. In death, he realized the error of his ways and watched over those the cult bring. Helping they not to fall into despair. He told them about how Dawnson’s death was not the end of the Red Dawn Sons cult. Now called “Red Dusk”, they were led by Taelan, Dawnson’s apprentice, towards even darker magic. Stormblades would be hunted down and brought to have their souls tortured and used as fuel for stone golems. Gronnosh had enough and rushed towards that cave entrance, while Detra was badly wounded by the mage encounter and remained behind for healing. Down the catacombs, they’ve found souls being infused into still inactive golems. Krogarh and Gronosh exploded those golems while Xul’ili and Nurzum freed and calmed down the spirits. When the job was done, Krogarh saw a crack on the walls: a narrow tunnel which led them into a necrotic secret lab. Above its stairs, there was the Lich formerly known as Eledel Dawnson. Dawnson, Reborn It was no easy fight, for the Lich had two mages and a massive golem construct by his side. None of that mattered to Gronnosh, though, as he charged straight to the Lich. Nurzum and Xul’ili fought with the mages. While none Krogarh’s attacks would ever damage the golem’s hard armor. Dawnson laughed at the clan’s failure, mocking them for their weakness when Gronnosh was defeated. Retreat became an option until Nurzum, now badly hurt by the golem, prayed for the water spirits and ancestors to heal his wounds. The freed spirits helped his healing to the full, to which Arokosh got envy and expanded its wind dome to protect all the clan. The tide has turned: Krogarh got momentum and used his explosives to defeat the golem, while Nurzum killed the mages with its rune magic. Only Dawnson was left, and Xul’ili wanted to make sure he would suffer. She swept her arms around herself and chanted pulling her hands up, imitating grasping claws. Spectral arms appeared to drag the Lich down to the depts. He was attacked by every Stormblade left(Inlcuding Detra! Surprise attack!). Xul continued her chant, now intending to painfully tear his spirit apart. As the Lich was about to die, a''' '''voice echoes through the room: ''“You served your purpose, Dawnson. Bought me enough time feeding the curse to the master. Now die for the cause and inspire my cultists! I don’t need you anymore.” '' Dawnson withered away cursing Taelan. The battle was won, but the Stormblades were too badly hurt to continue into Westfall. For now, they’ve returned to the wagon and burned the remains of the fallen, giving them their last rites. Zurogg and the freed spirits appeared once more to bless the Stormblade with their iron will and endurance before heading together to the other side. Aftermath of the Soul Engine Anima Chasm Days have passed since Dawnson’s defeat. The Stormblades reached Westfall and set a camp to rest before the final journey. They managed to call the Lich Karthys in as reinforcements. Their destination was pretty close to the camp: A giant chasm where reality itself bent backwards. Stones and trees float as a massive white glow flows to the sky. As soon as they got there, void hands hold Karthys still, and Red Dusk cultists ambushed the others! They were soon dispatched, as the clansmen strike true and Detra gives in to bestiality. Now alone, they try to figure out the curse’s source. Nurzum Xul’ili and Karthys work together, and discover it was powered by souls’ vital force. During their ritual of cleansing, more cultists appear! Detra and the others have to deal with while the cleansing is made. With their ritual complete, the floating pieces all merge and back to the ground, recreating the fallen mountain. Taelan Dawnchaser The cult leader Taelan was not pleased. He himself appeared to fight them, and his skills were dire. With mirror images and powerful spells, he managed to avoid all the Stormblades’s attacks and retaliate. Chieftain Xul was deadly wounded! As she fell, the Stormblade filled the others with morale. Gronnosh protected her, while Krogarh charged into a fierce barrage of attacks. As he dodged each and every attack, an opening soon appeared to Gronnosh to attack from a far. Taelan blinked away, just to fall into Karthys’ drain soul spell. With no way of winning, Taelan casts a mist to allow his teleport. Which failed when Krogarh just charged forward and beheaded. As he died, Karthys drained his soul and his body withered away. Karthys wants to keep the soul to taunt Shalarin later. With Xul badly hurt, they decided to retreat for now. Return to the base and heal before heading to their final destination. Erecting a Guardian Back at the village, enough days have passed for Xul to fully heal. Meanwhile Karthys, which had traveled elsewhere, now returns alongside a female Forsaken Death Knight and a wagon full of unique plate armor. At his request, Xul summoned the clansmen to the village's bonfire, where he explained his plan to erect a shrine guardian of his own. While the clan ventured on their quest to empower the Stormblade, he had spent countless hours working with Forgemasters of the Ebon Blade and Vrykul of Stormheim to build an armor for his Astral Juggernaut, who should protect the village and the shrine in their absence. Karthys then looked over to a dimly lit lantern which contained the last ingredient: a willingly soul of a Vrykul Warrior. Karthys opened a small portal next to Nalna, the death knight, and motioned his hands to levitate a sizeable saphire into her hands. It irradiated with power, for it was carved with runes of the Shadowmoon Clan. The ritual began: Nalna's function was to hold the gem while Xul'ili and Nurzum would together guide the Vrykul's soul into it. Meanwhile, Gronnosh and Krogarh were to assemble the armor parts around the saphire. The bonfire went from its normal reddish orange to a teal-blue as the ritual continued. Only its head was now missing for the guardian to be active. However, a dense void pressure spreaded thoughtout the village. Void tendrils emmerged from the ground to attack both citzens and buildings. Warlord Namok lead both Gronnosh and Krogarh into defense, but the tendrils were unending. Two fel fireballs floated above like emerald eyes: Shalarin was there. Karthys and Xul'ili taunted her in order to buy time for Nurzum to finish the ritual . Karthys mocked her for her minion's failure, while Xul stated she would NEVER win. Shalarin falled for the later, and decided to break her will. A void tendril emerged behind Gronnosh and gravely wounded him. All tendrils then merged into one, holding Gronnosh high for the whole village to see. He was to be crushed to death while Shalarin mocked Xul for failing both her clan and her mates. This ignited Xul's rage, who burned herself in corpsefire for a massive wave of magic. Blinded by her rage, however, she did not realize Nurzum managed to erect the guardian! Its magic lance came down from the sky, and Van'kar, son of On'var, banished Shalarin once again from the mortal plane. With her gone, the tendrils and the pressure were no more. With Guardian Van'kar now erected, the shrine would be protected on the mortal side. However, it was still necessary to choose a guardian on the other side. For that, their journey would lead to Silithus as soon as Gronnosh recovers. A Warrior's Heart Succumbing to Whispers In the meantime it took for Gronnosh could fully heal, Xul and Nurzum heavily warded the village while Karthys interrogated Taelan’s soul. Guardian Van'kar now protects the shrine as they venture into the sands of Silithus. They have reached Southwind Village, the Horde settlement on the region, and decided to rest before reaching their final destination. As conversations begin, Xul tells the new bloods about the necromancer they once fought on that place, a vile man kidnaping children in search of his granddaughter Mary. Detra, however, stood silently away from the others. Her doubts and bestiality were exploited by Shalarin’s whispers, which had convinced the dragon to kill the Stormblades before they kill her. Detra reverts to Detrion, her stone dragon form, and attacks! Some tried to do immobilize her: Nurzum spread spiritual balls around her, Gronnosh tried a submission, and Karthys used shadows to grip her into the ground. Others tried to wake her up: Xul with a spell and Nam with a shield bash on her head. Nothing seemed to work. Detra eventually broke free from each restrain and charged against Xul’ili, who was pushed to the ground between Detrion’s claws. Whispers of Shalarin mock her for failing again, but the chieftain did not relent. She closed her eyes and touched the dragon’s scaly hide for release spell, which finally releases Detra from Shalarin’s grasp. Detra is surprised by the situation and ashamed for what she has done. Since both she, Xul and Nurzum were badly injured by this fight, the clan decided to wait one hour to recover. A Cursed Altar When everyone was ready, they then journey to the place where they once fought the Necromancer. There, they have found the spirit of a wolf rider named Garadosh, son of Zarak. Garadosh could not move on because he felt his death, to be killed by a faceless before he could even draw his axe, was not honorable. To which his living clansmen comforted him. They told him about their quest and asked him about the other two who died that day. Garadosh told the Stormblades that their souls were taken by the Twilight’s Hammer cult, which erected a shrine using the necromancer’s dream journal and wants to offer the souls to some dark master (Shalarin). The spirit then guided them into the shrine, where they killed the cultists and looted the Necromancer’s dream journal in the process. At the center of the shrine stood a big chalice filled with a yellow liquid. After many tries of breaking the souls out of the chalice failed, Namok’s screamed to it so loud it managed to reach out to the Necromancer’s soul trapped inside that chalice. He wanted to cooperate, as long as they have a deal. Necromancer's Deal Two were the conditions for him to free the souls: * Until the end of that day, he vowed not to hurt any of them in any way, in return none of them would do anything to him. If any of them even tried, Xul’ili should stop it. * They were to blindly follow his every instruction until the souls were freed. The first step was to position people around the shrine’s runestones, to which Karthys has put zombies instead. Then, the necromancer taught them the spell words to undo the curse of his obviously cursed book. Karthys made a zombie speak it instead and open the books. He told them which pages show be read to undo the first barrier, and the yellow liquid became transparent, revealing a black jewel at the bottom. The only way to take this jewel was to drink all the water in it. Karthys first tried to make his imp drink it, but Namok decided to drink most of it first. The Stormblades now used the last spell to undo the jewel and free the spirits….resurrecting the necromancer in the process. Although Xul’ili and Karthys tried to break the deal, they could not. He teleported away. Finally, it was time for the final blessing. Garadosh and the other two Stormblade spirits freed from the chalice to complete the ritual and move on. As soon as they go back to the village, a new spirit will be chosen as their champion, and Shalarin’s threat can be dealt with once and for all. Meanwhile, Karthys told them about the information he got from Taelan’s soul: Where Shalarin came from, and maybe a weakness they can use to defeat her. The Last Ritual Stormblade Champion It was Twilight at Stormblade Village. Their journey across continents has finally ended. After two moons of rest, they climbed once again to the shrine, for it was time to choose a champion. Reaching the mountain peak, they notice the shrine is different. A circle of runes was drawn on the ground, and runes carved in the stone had now some sort of ink. In front of the largest runestone, was Van’kar, the golem. A flowery scent of Wild Steelbloom could be felt coming from incense around the shrine. Nurzum was meditating close to the blue bonfire at the center, wearing full armor that many never saw him using before. Two drums of the maelstrom were beside him. As Xul’ili gave the last material for the ritual to begin, and then got in charge of do ceremonial dances during the ritual. Meanwhile Gronnosh and Drakinosh volunteered to sound the drums. As the ritual begins, Nurzum then proceeded to present three symbols as offering to the ancestors: * A symbol of home: Represented by the shrine itself, for it was adorned in things that represented Stormblade Village. * A symbol of might: Dust from Deathwing’s scale provided by Xul’ili. A trophy from our vengeance against the dragon. * A symbol of will: Blood of the willing. In this case, Nurzum’s blood. A bow with the offering was thrown on the big blue bonfire, The Stormblade glows alongside all runestones. The flowery scent was no more, as they could only scent a coming storm instead. Those looking for the incense would not find it, for dense mists slowly began to cover the place. Meanwhile, each sound of the drums was louder than the previous, sounding more and more similar to thunder! Figures begin to slowly appear from the mists: the ancestors have come. Every ancestor spirit of the Clan was there. Some of the spirits had died recently, like Thru’mok and Gav’raz. Others they can recognize from their last journey. Zakku and Darukk stood among the Stormblade’s original clansmen, while Zurogg led the orc scouts. Garadosh and the other two from Silithus were among a group of five spirits whose faces only Xul could recognize. After everyone had a moment recognizing their parents, The ancestors asked them to choose the one who would become their champion. This voting was heated, and many were among the chosen votes. Alas, the overwhelming winning vote was for Dragonslayer Garadosh, who is surrounded by the other ancestors. Together they roar as loud as the thunder that can be heard as if coming from a distance. Each spirit gives part of their anima to the chosen one, who glows more and more. The anima stabilizes with a final dance of the Stormblade, and Garadosh is now bigger, has runic tattoos, a spectral clan armor similar to that of Nurzum's and a big weapon similar to Dreg’tal’s original Stormblade. One final Thunder echoes, and the mists disappear alongside it. They are once again at the shrine. The blue bonfire is barely lit, and birds still fly around. For some reason, however, both moons are now red. A Moral dilema Although the ritual had ended, some continued to drum. Garadosh addressed Karthys with seriousness, telling him that the others in the clan did deserve to know what he was about to do. The Lich explains that he had prepared a spell to mass murder all of Shalarin’s followers at once. The drums stopped. A heated discussion, which would last for one hour, began. Namok’s representative was in favor of Karthys’ plan, but Detra found no honor on succumbing to this wicked choice. Krogarh thought her followers deserved no mercy, but Gronnosh though that they should not succumb to Shalarin’s level. Xul sighted. This last journey showed her all the times she had failed for not taking the hard decision, and she was just tired of that. To Gronnosh’s disgust, she agreed with Karthys. Althought the Lich had assured only his hands would be dirty with this, he saw that mass murder would not be handled well on that moment. He then suggested to mass teleport them there and imprison all of them. Most of the clan had agreed, but they were then interrupted by an ambush! Final Fight The birds go down one after the other, revealing themselves to be druids! As they reach the ground, they cast entangling roots into Van’kar, holding him still. Three Red Dusk mages teleport to protect the druids, while the Necromancer finally descends into action. Bellow, they could see fires on Stormblade Village. As they dealt with the mages, the necromancer had drained Detra’s essence enough to fasten his ritual. Black goo flows nonstop from his face, enveloping his body until forming a liquid floating orb. Monstrous eyes open from what they later discovered to be a medium , which opened a wide portal above it, with glowing emerald eyes watching from inside The sky turns purple while reality bends to her presence, and none can move due to her overwhelming pressure. Shalarin thanks Detra for being the Harbinger of her coming, disappointed that it was not Karthys. The Lich taunt Shalarin, but she instead decides to punish him: Karthys did not see when the void hands grabbed his arm threw him away. While the Lich was in the air, a big fel spike grew from the ground, impaling him before burning into hellfire. Black smoke of countless dark specters blow to the sky. As the flames subside, the spike was gone. Karthys could hear no more voices inside him. He could, however, feel something he should not: Pain. To his clansmen’s horror, they could only see a living human with a severed arm. Garadosh would see no more of this, plunging his sword into the ground and giving the Stormblades enough resistance to move within the pressure. The battle against the corrupted wild god was fierce and costly. Some, like Gronnosh, would experience madness and suffering. Others, like Xul, were trapped on nightmares. Alas, the fight continues until Shalarin to be subdued by Detra, which has bitten her neck and forced her to the ground. Garadosh leaped into her head and carved his spectral sword into her head, filling her with blue runes. Xul snarled and put her all into her spell again calling out the spirits around her as she twisted in her dance and casted a banishment spell into Shalarin. At this time, the medium was defeated, and Shalarin would soon fade away. However, she would not go without a fight. She unleashed a void nova into all around her to free herself, and jumped into the one she hated most: Karthys. The former Lich did not experienced this pain in years, as Shalarin had devoured one of his legs and scratched his face until his face had no skin left. However, he did not scream, for he wouldn’t give her any satisfaction. He spat on her face as others attack her, and soon the manifestation of her exploded. The skies returned to normal, and Shalarin’s powers wane. There were no fires on the village, as the villagers managed to deal with the situation. Karthys’ body deteriorates back into his lich self, and his remaining arm turns to dust as backlash for using holy magic. Alas, the enemy was defeated, and Garadosh told them the runes he infused on Shalarin with would make her unable to reach out to the mortal world. As long as she has no followers, she would be imprisoned forever in her own dimension. Karthys leaves telling they still had not killed all of her servants, and that he did not discard mass murder as an option. Trivia and Notes * This campaign can be considered an "all stars" of former adventures. Questions like what happened to the imploded tower and followers at the end of "Red Dawn Sons" campaign and who was the dark master behind the necromancer in "The necromancer's child" were answered, while also teaching the clan's origins to new members. * There is an epilogue short story called "Genocide Run", in which Karthys does his "Requiem of the Damned" spell to kill all the remaining known members of the Red Dusk. Only a few know of this slaughter, as they believe he had imprisoned them instead. * Although some signs of Shalarin's presence are obvious, like her pressure, others are more subtle. Whenever is colder then it should, it is a sign of her presence. * Throughout this campaign, Shalarin tries to turn the clansmen to her side in multiple ocasions: ** She reminds Xul'ili of her failures, taunting her with the death of her loved ones. She even tries to kill her current mate in front of the entire village, but fails. ** In the prelude, she takes advantage of Krogarh's weakness against the supernatural to possess his body. Although she tried to do so again after she was banished, Krogarh had mental wards put on him to prevent her from doing so. ** Since Detra discovered the clan's dragon hunter origins, Shalarin had being whispering to Detra about her unsafety among them. This can be noted on her gradual fall into bestiality until finally being turned on "warrior's heart". Category:Stormblade Clan Category:Campaigns